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Goldbeck Circuit
The Goldbeck Circuit, or simply Goldbeck, is a motorsport race track situated in Saltburn Heights, Leeds. Amongst other motor racing events, it annually hosts the Formula One Leeds Grand Prix. Situated in the south of the suburb, the circuit is almost completely flat, with very little change in elevation. The circuit Construction Plans to hold the 2012 Leeds Grand Prix at the Goldbeck Circuit were accepted in 2008. In a news conference on 27 July 2008, the developers announced plans to build the track on about 890 acres of undeveloped land in southern Saltburn Heights. On 12 April 2009, the track's name was announced as the "Goldbeck Circuit" at a press conference. The circuit homologation design was submitted to the FIA in Geneva for approval on 17 December 2009. HKS, Inc. and Tilke Engineers & Architects designed the track and Austin Commercial, a subsidiary of Austin Industries, was the general contractor. Construction began on 2 January 2010, and was due to be complete by April 2012. Construction went ahead at a rapid pace, and in no time the route of the track had been cleared and the stands built. One of the last jobs was to build the pit lane, pits, grandstand, and associated items. Then, in April 2012, the track recieved it's surfacing, and was declared ready. On 1 May 2012, Charlie Whiting - the FIA-appointed Race Director for Formula One - declared himself satisfied with the circuit's construction, scheduling a final pre-race inspection of the circuit for 22 May, two months before the first race. The car parks around the site were initially planned to be grassed fields; however, they were changed to solid tarmac prior to the 2012 grand prix over flooding fears. Configuration The course of the track is 2.8 miles (4.6km) long. It is a thirteen-turn course with long straights, several high-speed corners, and very technical slower corners. The track has been compared to the Sebring International Raceway in Florida, for its similar straights and corners. The track design team leader said that track was inspired by Sebring after he was amazed by it during a visit in 2009. There is very little elevation change around the track and little camber in the surface, providing a challenging track for drivers, especially when it rains. Goldbeck has a very smooth surface, made of 100% asphalt. The pitlane is also asphalt. The pitlane is notorious, with the entrance being a corner between the tight Turns 12 and 13. Then the pitlane goes through a small chicane, the only F1 pitlane to do so. The exit of the pits is a high-speed slight bend, rejoining the track just after Turn 1. Around the edge of the track is mainly the traditional grass run-off area leading into gravel traps, however some corners do have concrete run-off areas. The track has a capacity of 450,000 in it's various huge grandstands. This makes it the largest track by capacity in Formula One, overtaking the Shanghai International Circuit, host of the Chinese Grand Prix, which has a capacity of 200,000. It is also the largest race track by capacity for any event in the world, overtaking the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the USA, which has a capacity of 400,000 for NASCAR and IndyCar events. When the stadium is not in use for events, it is open to the public, much like Germany's Nurburgring. There is also a drag strip inside the Goldbeck site, which will hold the European NitrOlympics Championships annually from 2013. History The track was built between 2010 and 2012. On 11 July 2012, the track was officially opened by the President, to a dramatic fireworks display. Then on 12 July, it hosted it's first motor racing event, the FIA World Touring Car Championship's Leeds race. The first F1 grand prix is scheduled for 22 July. Goldbeck in gaming It was announced that Goldbeck would be included in the upcoming racing game Gran Turismo 6. Also, it will be in every annual F1 ''game, starting with ''F1 2012 in September 2012.